December always makes me think of the longer hours of darkness. Thankfully this December we get to celebrate the release of Murder at the Lobstah Shack by Maddie Day aka Edith Maxwell. The book is set after Columbus Days when the hours of light rapidly shorten.
Here’s a bit about the book: When murder turns out to be the special of the day at her friend’s seafood restaurant, bicycle shop owner Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida and her fellow book club sleuths have to net a killer…
From clam chowdahs to oysters on the half-shell, Tulia Peters’ Lobstah Shack offers locals and tourists in Westham, Massachusetts, some of Cape Cod’s most amazing cuisine. But when the body of Annette DiCicero is discovered in the kitchen’s walk-in freezer—with a custom-made claw-handled lobster pick lodged in her neck—spoiled appetites are the least of Tulia’s worries.
After a heated public argument with Annette, Tulia is a person of interest in the police’s homicide investigation. To clear Tulia’s name, Mac and the Cozy Capers Book Group snoop into Annette’s personal life. Between her temperamental husband, his shady business partner, and two women tied to Annette’s past life as “Miss New Bedford”, there are now several suspects and multiple motives. And they’re getting crabby about Mac intruding on their affairs…
Wickeds, do you change your routine in the late fall/early winter?
Jessie: Super congratulations on the release, Edith! My routine shifts in details a bit but not really in the broad strokes. I prefer to walk with my dog, Sam, when it’s light out and perhaps not quite as cold. That requires me to move our morning walk a bit later and the afternoon one a bit earlier. I knit year round, but in the summer I work on small projects like socks or lace weight shawls. In the cooler months I turn my efforts to larger projects that warm my lap like sweaters.
Sherry: Congratulations, Edith! Another book out — woo-hoo! I tend to go to bed a bit earlier in December than I do the rest of the year. And when I’m sitting on the couch reading or watching TV, I’m snuggled in a throw of some sort. I also tend to start looking for recipes that lean to comfort food — usually updated healthy versions.
Julie: Congratulations, Edith! I’m not a fan of the cold, but find that once I’m out and moving it can be refreshing. It’s much easier to take a long walk than it is during the dog days of summer. Also, like Jessie, I knit larger projects, much to my cats’ delight.
Barb: Congratulations, Edith! I really hate it when it gets dark so early, (like right now) so I decorate for the holidays to ward off the blues. Then Bill and I head south for the worst of the winter. One of the best things about Key West is that it’s so much farther west in the eastern time zone, we get an hour more sunlight in the evening just by going there. However, once we get to Key West, our routine–writing, photography, home and friends–is entirely the same as up north. So you could say our routine changes completely–or not at all.
Edith/Maddie: Thank you, all! My routine changes in that my vegetable garden no longer needs my attention, and I can stop reminding Hugh to mow the lawn (we have different standards on that…). I also love wearing my Murder and Mayhem writing hoodie in the mornings and pulling on knee-high boots with a skirt or jeans for a dinner out. Plus it gets cool enough to bake bread and make soups and stews. Like Julie, I find brisk walks in cold air much more pleasant than when it’s hot out. And who knows, maybe I’ll take up knitting again!
Readers: Does your routine change?
Yes, I tend to hibernate during the winter months. Indoors I’m snuggled in a blanket with hot beverages and a book to read.
Sounds perfect, Dru.
Yeah! Another opportunity to say CONGRATULATIONS on the release of ” Murder at the Lobstah Shack”! Adore your books and can’t wait for the change to read this one.
Winter time/time change bring a lot of changes for us. It means less time spent outside doing gardening and yard work. The shorter hours give us less time to bone up our photography skills since a lot of the critters visits are now when the lightening isn’t that great to work with. On the flip side, it gives us time for more leisurely things like relaxing in front of the fireplace with a great book or a not seen by us movie (or an old favorite). Basic routine stays the same because if you have a furbaby there is no time change. So each season has it’s trade offs and I’d rather focus on the good of each than dwell of what might not be so good about it. 🙂
2clowns at arkansas dot net
I love your positive attitude, Kay.
Yes! In central Texas, it’s still warm in the fall and early winter, but the extended darkness encourages more indoor activities. Even when it gets colder, our century-old building’s 18-inch stone walls maintain an even temperature, perfect for crafts and writing. LOL—it’s like loft-living in the country!
That’s an old structure for Texas! What had it been previously?
Its Main-Street legacy goes back to 1906. Stewards of the property include drug story, haberdashery, department store, bakery, and now, gallery. From horse and buggies tied up out front to today’s vehicles, we had a ball finding photographs of the changes over the years.
Sure. I go from mowing the lawn to raking leaves to shoveling snow. Love the first two activities, hate the last. In winter when it gets dark so darn early, I cuddle under the blankets and read even more. That’s the positive side of winter.
Same here, Ginny!
I also take my daily walks later in the morning with lots more layers of clothes so I look like a robot walking lol! I sure wish I could knit but I’ve tried and just don’t have the patience for it. Lots of reading, lots of housecleaning, and I watch the countdown I’ve written on my calendar til Spring!
Spring will certainly come.
My routine doesn’t really change. I still get up around 6:30 to feed Koda, work the day job, write, and spend the evening reading or watching TV. The only nod to the seasons is I do the latter under a cozy blanket. Oh, and the occasional bubble bath.
Ooh, bubble bath!
Living in an area where sunlight varies from 16 to 8 hours daily depending on the time of the year I find it does affect my wake/sleep routine. I love writing in the dark of night so I’m more productive in the winter. During the summer, I want to be out in the woods!
Interesting, Kait. I only write at night when I am on solo retreat – and then I surprise myself at how productive I can be.
I go from gardening to looking at seed catalogs, we switch our walks from early mornings to the afternoon when it’s had a chance to warm up a bit, I make soups instead of salad, and we bring out the jigsaw puzzles
I did two jigsaws with my son and his wife over Thanksgiving. They don’t even consult the box cover!
Congratulations on your new release Edith! Your book sounds like a very good read and I love the book title! My routine doesn’t really change , except that I when I water plants that need watering outside I can’t stay out there too long since it gets darker earlier, but that’s o.k. Have a great week and stay safe.
Thanks, Alicia. You stay safe, too!
Does my routine change? Living in the Northeast, my routine definitely changes. November 1st is the date I generally start wearing long pants from the shorts I try to wear from May onward. I’m inside more because of the cold. Outdoor concerts (when I attended them) become a thing of the past. The air conditioner or fans become turning on the heat.
My daily routines of work and home with the night out for Trivia night stay the same though. And I’m still busy with writing my reviews and articles.
But when you live where it gets colder than a well digger’s…well you know…routines that work in the warmer months go by the wayside.
And my copy of Edith’s book should be here come Saturday.
I hope my story will keep you warm, Jay!
I have several routes I run during the summer when it is light enough out after work. During the winter, I run one route, which is lit the entire way. And my Sunday afternoon ultimate game adjusts to mid-afternoon in the winter instead of early evening in the summer, when we try to avoid the heat and take advantage of it being light later.
I’m glad you run on a lit route, Mark. It’s so scary to be driving in the dark and I barely miss a runner or walker who is NOT wearing lights on their clothes!
I like to be seen and I like to see what is going on around me while I run. Including anything I might trip over.
Not much since I am disabled.
Congratulations Edith on the publication of Murder at the Lobstah Shack. It’s on my short TBR pile to read this month.
Yes, my daily routine does change with the darker, colder months. I am an early morning person, and I hate it that I am awake before 5 am and it does not get light until after 7:30. I do suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) so I have used an artificial light each morning to simulate the bright light my body needs when I wake up. The light sits on my desk and I only have it turned it on for 15-30 minutes after waking up.
But I have also changed from being a winter couch potato/hibernator to a more active outdoors person in Ottawa. Exercising in the cold, crisp winter air is very invigorating, and I need to do it almost every day. I walk with the Capital City Walkers even when it’s snowy and -30C for a few hours, a couple of days each week. And once we get enough snow, I am looking forward to snowshoeing season and ice skating on the Rideau Canal.
Now that my edible balcony garden is done for the year, I switch over to keeping my perennial herbs alive, and growing some microgreens, salad greens and enjoy harvests from my pink oyster mushroom kit. And I start to dream/plan for the 2022 gardening season.
And like Edith, my cooking shifts towards making more soups, stews and baking.
Congrats on the book release!
My routine changes in fall and winter quite a bit, because it’s finally cool enough to do things outdoors during the day (I live in southern Arizona). So I do garden projects, take walks and hikes, and go plant shopping by when I’m not working my day job or writing.